LEIYANG, Hunan- Two miners have been confirmed dead and six others remain trapped under a flooded colliery pit for the fourth day in Central China's Hunan province, rescuers said Monday.

The bodies of the two were lifted to the ground at 11 pm Sunday, hours after eight of their fellow miners were pulled out alive at the Qielichong colliery in Leiyang city.

It is yet to know the condition of the remaining six miners who are still trapped.

The flooding occurred last Wednesday afternoon when 40 miners were working underground. Of all, 24 managed to escape and the rest 16 became trapped.

But the accident was not reported to the local government until Thursday morning, which delayed the start of the rescue operation by almost 12 hours, according to local authorities.

The mine owner, Liu Yaping, is in police custody.